Leibman Financial Services Inc. Lowers Holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH)

Leibman Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Meritage Homes Co. (NYSE:MTH) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,986 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,281 shares during the quarter. Meritage Homes accounts for approximately 2.3% of Leibman Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Leibman Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Meritage Homes were worth $3,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 10.6% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 95,218 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,707,000 after purchasing an additional 9,128 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meritage Homes in the first quarter valued at $1,908,000. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 5.9% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 79,358 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,924,000 after purchasing an additional 4,435 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 3.3% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 216,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,970,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Meritage Homes by 204.5% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 13,378 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares during the last quarter. 98.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Meritage Homes from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Meritage Homes from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meritage Homes has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.00.

Meritage Homes Stock Up 0.6 %

MTH opened at $196.42 on Wednesday. Meritage Homes Co. has a twelve month low of $109.23 and a twelve month high of $213.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $194.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.12. The company has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 1.80.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $1.14. Meritage Homes had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Meritage Homes Co. will post 21.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meritage Homes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Meritage Homes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meritage Homes news, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,136,850. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meritage Homes news, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.36, for a total value of $595,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,837,936.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Hilla Sferruzza sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $512,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,136,850. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock worth $3,111,080 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Meritage Homes Profile

Meritage Homes Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs and builds single-family attached and detached homes in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Homebuilding and Financial Services. It acquires and develops land; and constructs, markets, and sells homes for entry-level and first move-up buyers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.